A Public Speaking & Language Blog

Most of us dread public speaking and would do nearly anything to get out of it. There are a few things that can be done, however to make you seem more confident. Try these tips next time you’re up at the mic and feeling nervous.

It is so important to get the audience laughing as soon as you can. Opening with a joke starts your speech off on the right note and it will immediately relax your audience with a good laugh as well as relax yourself a bit. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself a little bit too. Finding a sweet spot with some self-deprecating behavior will break down the wall that your audience may have put up when you first took the stage.

They’ll feel a relaxed vibe from you and will return the favor. Plus it always feels good to see some smiling faces looking back at you. Try to be expressive with your emotions to help calm your nerves. Getting into the excitement or the emotion behind what you are saying rather than how you are feeling will help you to seem more confident.

Using the feelings about the topic at hand will help to counteract the nerves and tension that you are experiencing. It will give you an outlet to channel all of you nervous energy into rather than suppressing it.

It is important to try to connect with your audience and the best way to do that is to focus on the people that are focused on you. Try to focus on people that are nodding while you are speaking. It is a great confidence booster to see someone nodding in agreement with you and by focusing on those that are nodding along to what you are saying you are gaining more confidence.

I used to think that public speaking was designed with the intent to make people crack under pressure and see how well their deodorant worked. Well I actually still feel that way, but I have learned some very helpful tips over the years to help reduce my nervousness most of the time. I hope that you find some success with these tips and need less antiperspirant during your next speaking engagement.

It is important when speaking publicly not to expect perfection of yourself. No one is perfect and it is unfair to expect those same standards of oneself. When making a public speech it is easy to stumble over words and make mistakes. You just need to remind yourself that it is ok and keep on going.

Try to keep in mind when giving a speech it’s necessary to avoid equating your performance while speaking to your self-worth because these two things are not mutually exclusive. You don’t have to be good at public speaking to be a good person or good at your job.

You may feel less nervous if you don’t feel the need to memorize your speech word for word. Trying to recite your speech is a great way to increase your stress level and will in turn cause greater levels of anxiety. Try to memorize a basic outline of what you want your speech to be like and then just go with the flow.

The most important thing you can do to less nervous during your speech is to breathe. Just take some deep breaths and remember that at the end of the day the speech is just a drop in the bucket on the grand scheme of things. It doesn’t define you or limit you. It will be over and done before you know it.

That’s where public speaking skills come in. Public speaking involves communicating a specific message to a group of people. That’s what phlebotomists do in addition to drawing a patient’s blood. Phlebotomists explain medical procedures to the patient, review additional instructions to complete at home, or ease the tension of an anxious adult or a crying child before the blood draw.

That’s why communication skills are critical in a patient care environment. These three public speaking skills help phlebotomists improve bedside manner and patient communication.

1) Present positive body language: Nonverbal communication like body language helps set the tone of a situation. Positive body language includes smiling, upright posture, eye contact and respecting a person’s comfort zone. It is also important to observe non-verbal messages from patients, such as crossed arms or yawning, in order to successfully turn a negative experience into a positive one.

2) Active listening skills: Interact with a patient by applying active listening skills. It lets the patient know that you are interested in their well-being. Active listening includes validating concerns with feedback or withholding statements of judgment. For example, rather than telling a crying child to not get scared of getting blood drawn, validate that it will hurt a little but the procedure will be over soon. Also, a confident and friendly tone of voice also helps to calm anxious patients.

3) Use words your audience understands: Public speakers avoid using jargon as much as possible in order to clearly communicate their message. Likewise, phlebotomists should avoid using unfamiliar medical terminology when conversing with patients. Instead, use simple terms and bring the conversation to the patient’s level of understanding.

It takes more than cutting, coloring and styling to be a successful cosmetologist. Public speaking skills are essential for hairstylists to communicate and interact with clients. So, while you’re touching up someone’s mascara, it’s good to really be able to communicate. The lack of good public speaking skills or communication skills is similar to working without scissors or brushes. Cosmetologists must be able to understand the customers’ style needs, interact with their clients, and always exhibit professionalism even through non-verbal communication.

The following is list of useful public speaking skills that help hairstylists enhance communication with their clients:

1) Interacting and understanding your customers’ style needs: In a public speaking engagement, presenters interact with the audience by asking questions and engaging in dialogue. Good public speakers avoid jargon as much as possible to ensure that the audience understands the underlying message.

Hair stylists should do the same when communicating with their clients. When a client requests for a specific cut or style, be sure to summarize and repeat the style request to the client to ensure a mutual understanding. Also, hair stylists should describe to the client the process of the achieving the style. Use specific words and descriptions rather than solely relying industry jargon. For example, a customer says that she wants her hair trimmed, but after asking more questions, the hair stylist discovers that the customer wants thin out the ends of her thick strands rather than chopping off her locks.

2) Listening to your client: Listening is part of effective public speaking. Good speakers listen to their audience by reading body language and observing their level of audience engagement. Hairstylists likewise build rapport with their clients through actively listening. Cosmetologists who actively listen and engage with their client gain a better idea of the desired hairstyle and fits it to match the client’s lifestyle.

3; Using body language techniques: What is not being said, meaning non-verbal communication, is just as important as what is being said. Body language like eye content, body posture and facial expressions all help to convey confidence.

That’s why public speaking skills are essential for presenting inside an organization. That includes communicating project objectives to colleagues, giving a “how-to” explanation for a new product launch, or convincing your co-workers to try out a new place to eat lunch.

Here are two useful public speaking tips for office associates to use in the workplace:

1) Know your audience: Nearly all office positions require some public speaking skills, whether or not it is included in the job description. For example, office mangers want to observe how the potential job candidate interacts and relates with the department’s current team. That’s why employees often assist with interviewing potential job candidates. Feedback from office workers also contributes to determining whether the applicant is a fit for the company.

In an interview scenario, the job candidate is “the audience.” Office workers should apply public speaking presentation skills to the interview, such as asking the job candidate engaging questions and conducting it like a conversation with active listening.

2) Communicate a specific message: Public speaking in the workplace requires knowing the message you want to convey. An office worker in a managerial position, for example, will have to inform, motivate or persuade co-workers or a department to achieve a specific goal. The office worker must match the goal to the appropriate speech setting. Consider this: presenting a how-to on using new payroll software will have a different tone compared to a speech at a fund-raising at a gala.

It makes your palms sweat, knees shake and voice crack. It gnaws on your self-confidence, freezes your brain and drains your emotional energy. Who or what can have this much control over your body and mind? It’s the fear of public speaking. For the average person, the fear of death comes second to this phobia.

Not only does the thought of presenting to a crowd makes people terrified, but many other possible negative experiences— such as technical glitches during the event or making the audience bored — also make people anxious about public speaking.

1) Getting pumped: The tempo or lyrics of a song can set your emotional state before making a presentation. It can raise your confidence level (think “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor) or calm your nerves (like tunes sung by soulful crooner, Adele). Music has been scientifically proven to improve the efficiency of a workout, so why not use songs to get in the right frame of mind before a public speaking presentation?

2) Control your vocal pitch: Let’s face it. No one wants to listen to a song that uses only one musical note. The same goes for public speaking. A monotone voice will make your audience fall asleep. A speech delivered with an expanded vocal range can build up various emotional tensions and themes, which helps keep the audience engaged

3) Make your speech into a song, sort of: To create a resonating speech, take a note from songwriters. Lyrical and musical techniques like refrains, cadences or hooks in songs help drive impact and memorability. Likewise, these techniques help to enhance the content of your speech, the foundation of great public speaking skills.